Inside the warehouse where costumes are made for Oscar-winning films like 'Star Wars' and 'The Theory of Everything'

As Halloween draws closer, one North London family is busier than ever.

Tim Angel is the chairman of Angels, a costume production company founded by his great-great-great grandfather Daniel in 1840.

It has created outfits for films franchises such as "Star Wars", "The Theory of Everything", and "Bridget Jones," and won 36 Oscars for costume design. In February 2016, the firm won a BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema.

Now, the company has started working with Netflix. Angels is currently producing costumes for "Darkest Hour," a Netflix Original series charting the life of Sir Winston Churchill, which the website plans to release in 2017.

"It's a very sexy business," Angel told Business Insider. The company is split into two branches; Angels Costumes — which supplies clothing to the entertainment industry — and Angels Fancy Dress, which sells and rents costumes to the general public.

It is one of the UK's longest-running family businesses. Tim's daughter Emma is the director of Angels Fancy Dress. Her brothers Daniel and Jeremy direct the digital and costume production sides of the firm respectively.

"I worked with my father and my uncle," Tim said, "and I learned an awful lot from them."

He said that, while most family businesses falter after the third generation, the costume company has stayed with the Angels for 176 years because of their entrepreneurial mindset.

"We've always been blessed in that our family has always had a strong business instinct, and we're very passionate about out work."

Although the family has had its share of ups and downs, working as a unit has brought them closer together.

Angels

"I’m very lucky because lots of families don’t get to see our children every day. We never talk about work when we're at home together."

The company, which started out as a second-hand clothing store in Covent Garden, has worked with some of the most iconic directors in the industry including Alfred Hitchcock, Richard Attenborough, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese.

Angels

Angels The company began as a second-hand clothing store in Covent Garden, and was popular with actors in the area who wanted to hire suits for their shows.

The company moved to a shop in Shaftesbury Avenue in 1880, where the Angels' fancy dress store still stands today.

It has also worked on T.V. shows such as "Downton Abbey" and "Game of Thrones."

As well as Oscar-winning films like "The Theory of Everything."

So far, Angels has won 36 Oscars for costume designs in films. The most recent was for the uniforms worn in "The Grand Budapest Hotel" in 2015.

In 1992, Angels moved its film production site to Hendon in North London, where it stores more than eight miles of clothes.

The Hendon warehouse contains more than eight miles of costumes.Angels

This allowed the company to keep its Shaftesbury Avenue premises as a costume shop for the public.

Costumes worn in some films are often recycled and worn again in a different production.

Angels

When it comes to period dramas, the outfits are sorted by the era they represent.

Angels

The warehouse even has a section dedicated to military attire.

Angels

The collection is split into the various branches of service including the navy, army, and airforce, and contains costumes depicting military uniforms from all over the world throughout history.

The company isn't just known in the entertainment world. From 1940 to 1945, Angels provided dress uniforms for the Free French Army.

Naturally, October is the busiest time of year for Angels Fancy Dress

It's not uncommon to see celebrities queueing up for their Halloween costumes.Angels

In 2015, the store took £90,000 in sales the day before Haloween.

Angels is so well-known in the entertainment industry, that it's not unusual to spot a few stars in the queues.

"We had Rod Stewart in five or six years ago," Angel said, "he was with his missus, and came to our warehouse in Hendon looking for a hippy costume for a 1960's themed party."

The hire costumes at Angels are also popular, and with good reason.

Halloween is the busiest time of year for Angels' high street stores.Angels

Most of the costumes tailored for film and T.V. productions go back into circulation once they're no longer needed.

Emma Angel said that many costumes, which start at around £80 to rent for an event, "could’ve been in movies."

In 2005, the original cloak worn by Sir Alec Guinness in his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 1977 Star Wars movie was found in the store during a routine stock check. It was later sold at an auction of TV and film memorabilia for over £50,000.